Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates made a head-scratching move by coming to terms with first baseman Lyle Overbay on a one-year, $5 million contract Tuesday afternoon, adding to the pile of mediocrity that currently surrounds first base and right field.

I've stated many times before the dire need to stick to the plan and continue to develop young players.  None of the other three signings truly bother me, and neither does this one, but it just doesn't help much.

My time in Orlando covering the Winter Meetings is about to end, but it was a very productive trip. I got a bit of everything. From shaking hands with some stars, to meeting some of my peers and some of those I strive to be like—the trip had it all.

The Pirates were a bit active as well.  I mentioned the Scott Olsen deal in my prior column.  Since then, the Pirates inked another starting pitcher in Kevin Correia and also signed outfielder Matt Diaz.

Both were solid baseball moves.

Although not there yet, I will be in Orlando tomorrow to bring you all of the latest news at Major League Baseball's annual Winter Meetings.

As usual on the first day, there is much dialogue between clubs.  Most of it goes nowhere, but rumors will fly and some groundwork to future deals may be laid.

General Manager Neal Huntington and the Pittsburgh Pirates were very busy before the midnight deadline to tender players contracts Thursday night.

Both shortstop Ronny Cedeno and pitcher Jeff Karstens were signed to contracts, while pitchers Ross Ohlendorf and Joel Hanrahan were both tendered contracts. All four moves were expected.

The already thin starting pitching market took a big hit this morning with the announcement that southpaw Jorge De La Rosa has re-signed with the Colorado Rockies for a deal estimated to be around the $30 million range for three years.

De La Rosa is the latest in a busy week for starting pitchers that saw Javier Vazquez, Jon Garland and Hiroki Kuroda all sign new deals.

Now what? The Pirates hit their 18th straight losing season in 2010. The 105 losses of the 2010 season are six more than 2009, which would lead most people to think they only got worse. That isn't exactly the case. Although they had one of their worst seasons in franchise history, they also showed off a few guys that could really make an impact down the road. Maybe these few guys could even get the Pirates back into the light of a winning season.

The Pirates did what many expected they would Friday night when they parted ways with left-hander Zach Duke.  The announcement came just before the midnight deadline to protect Rule 5 eligible minor league players.

Along with Duke, the Pirates also designated infielder Andy LaRoche and Delwyn Young for assignment as well.

The moves should come as no surprise, as Duke continued to struggle in 2010 to get major league hitters out consistently. 

Fifty years ago the Pittsburgh Pirates won one of the most sensational World Series in major league baseball history.

Last month in October, some of the living former Pirates teammates from that magical 1960 squad met to live once again the vivid memories of the day that stands above all others in Buccos history.

Yes, better than the world championships of 1971 and 1979, both times against the Baltimore Orioles.

It's been a little over two weeks since the Pittsburgh Pirates last interviewed a candidate for the open managerial position.  They've yet to name a manager and many believe that the Pirates were waiting for the New York Yankees to get eliminated from the playoffs.

Could they be waiting for another guy and another team to get eliminated from the playoffs?  Maybe Texas Rangers hitting coach Clint Hurdle?

It makes sense.

Even though he's a Pirate, Andy McCutchen is a well above league average player.

Newbies such as Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata and Neil Walker were all more or less league average in 2010, their rookie year (above average on offense, below average on defense).

Garrett Jones was moderately below average in 2010 after an above average half-year in 2009; a time-weighted performance suggests that he could be average.